NONE
Research and development of this invention and Application have not been federally sponsored, and no rights are given under any Federal program.
NOT APPLICABLE
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to caulking guns, in general, and to an applicator attachable to the nozzle of its tube container, in particular.
2. Description of the Related Art
Hand tools for displacing preselected compounds from a cylindrical tube are well known:
a. U.S. Pat. No. 4,198,756, for example, illustrates an extruder used in dentistry to dispensing flowable materials as employing a nozzle tip secured to a barrel having a front opening; and
b. U.S. Pat. No. 4,295,828 shows a similar type of medical use device having a separable nozzle tip on a cartridge barrel.
Various applicators for attachment to these hand tools have also be described:
a. U.S. Pat. No. 5,017,113 illustrates a fillet forming caulking tool, in which a fillet forming member is triangular in configuration having two edges at approximately 45xc2x0 to its center line;
b. U.S. Pat. No. 5,029,738 shows a caulking gun having a flexible spout connection to allow angular displacement in obtaining enhanced access. FIG. 5 therein shows a compressible body 12 to perform the angulation while FIG. 4 shows a solid dispenser tip 17 mounted with a deformable conical tip 18;
c. U.S. Pat. No. 5,249,716 includes a curved angle guide tube at 90xe2x80x94with FIG. 2 more specifically showing a nozzle assembly attached to the end of the caulking cannister, with the angle guide tube 90 fitted over the dispensing tube 40;
d. U.S. Des. Pat. No. 377,891 illustrates a caulking gun nozzle which, in FIG. 1, shows an apparent 45xc2x0 bend;
e. U.S. Pat. No. 5,695,788 is concerned with a wall repairing tool having a passageway 22 coupled to the nozzle 4 in receiving the repair material utilized; and
f. U.S. Pat. No. 6,076,712 illustrates a flexible caulk tube nozzle, best shown in FIG. 2 as having an accordion flexible section forming a tapered nozzle end portion.
While these hand tools, applicators and nozzles may work for their intended purposes, by and large they all are specialized arrangements, differing from what is generally available and typically used by a homeowner and contractor in the construction/repair field. There, the caulking container comprises a cylindrical dispensing tube having a co-linear nozzle at its end which conventionally is first cut at its end and then turned 90xc2x0 for use. Whether the preselected compound stored in the tube be an adhesive, a filler, or any other type material, the nozzle nose end of the tube is generally rounded as sold, and the nozzle extends into the tube through a slot cut within a barrel in which the tube is arranged to freely rotate. Instances arise, however, where caulking guns and tubes of these natures are both inconvenient and difficult to employ in certain angle situations where a straight-line application is inconvenient in practice.
As will become clear from the following description, the present invention comprises an applicator of inflexible hard plastic which is attached to the existing nozzle of the caulking tube container. The nozzle includes a pair of substantially circular cross-section components, the first of which fits over and around the nozzle a length to be held in place therewith by frictional force; such first sectional component will be seen to be of uniform circular cross-section substantially along its length about the nozzle itself. The second sectional component, on the other hand, tapers from a larger diameter at the first sectional component toward a smaller diameter remote therefrom, and at an alignment angle of other than 0xc2x0. In specific constructions, angles of 45xc2x0, or 90xc2x0, are preferable.
Such applicator may be attached to the nozzle of an elongate generally cylindrical dispensing tube which stores a preselected compound for subsequent displacement. When used with a caulking gun having a plunger reciprocable to dispense the stored compound, the cylindrical caulking tube is selected of a diameter so as to allow it to be freely rotatable within the barrel. A first end of the tube then receives the plunger, and a second end of the tube terminates in a conically tapered plastic nozzle at its opposite end. Again with the applicator being composed of an inflexible hard plastic, aligned with the nozzle at an angle other than 0xc2x0, the caulking tube can be rotated within the barrel of the gun so as to orient the adaptor for the correct dispensing of the compound bead. In use, if the preselected compound in the cannister is water soluble, the adaptor of the invention could be run under a faucet after use, cleaned and reused at a later time. If an oil-based compound is employed, on the other hand, being composed of a hard inflexible plastics the, applicator can be discarded without trepidation, because of its inexpensive manufacturing cost. The plastic for the adaptor in this respect may typically be of the same composition as of the nozzle on the container itself.